S.S.

JAIN SUBODH LAW COLLEGE

MANSAROVER, JAIPUR

SESSION:- 2019-20
TOPIC:- FEMALE FOETICIDE

SUBJECT:-ENGLISH

Submitted to :- submitted by:-

Dr.Prerna Agarwal Mujassim Anwar
Assistant Professor Khan
(English) Semester :- 1st B
 CERTIFICATE

Faculty

S.S. JAIN SUBODH

LAW COLLEGE
MANSAROVER,JAIPUR

This is to certify that Mujassm Anwar Khan, student of I semester, Section

B has carried out project titled Female Foeticide under my supervision. It
is an investigation of a minor research project. The student has
completed research work in stipulated time and according to norms
prescribed for the purpose.

Dr.Prerna Agarwal

(Assistant Professor)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my gratitude to those who generously took

initiative and helped in the successful completion of this project. I thank
to them for their inspiration & guidance towards preparation of this
report. I own to my esteemed teacher and supervisor, respected Dr.
Alpana Sharma, Director, S.S. Jain Subodh Law College, Mansarover
Jaipur, and I am highly indebted and my profound gratitude to Dr. Prerna
Agarwal (Faculty), S.S. Jain Subodh Law College, Mansarover Jaipur, who
enabled me to make a project, and provided me their stimulus of writing
this report on Female Foeticide . I am grateful to (faculty), S.S. Jain
Subodh Law College, Mansarover Jaipur , for her valuable advice,
continuous support & guidance through various useful discussions at
different times during the tenure of making this project and her co-
operation led to great learning experience to me.

I also thanks to Library members of S.S. Jain Subodh Law College,

Mansarover Jaipur for providing me subject matter in regard to my
research project. My humble thanks to all my colleagues and classmates
of my college, who rendered their whole hearted co-operation and
wonderful response.

(Signature of Student)
 LIST OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER-1:-…………………………………………………………….1-1

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER-2:-.……………………………………………………………2-2

ORIGIN OF FEMALE FOETICIDE

CHAPTER-3:-…………………………………………………………….3-4
REASONS FOR FEMALE FOTICIDE

CHAPTER-4:-…………………………………………………………….5-6
LAW THAT MAKES FEMALE FOETCIDE ILLEGAL

CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………7

BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………8
 CHAPTER:-1
INTRODUCTION

Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of

newborn female children. In countries with a history of female
infanticide, the modern practice of sex-selective abortion is often
discussed as a closely related issue. Female infanticide is a major
cause of concern in several nations such as China, India and
Pakistan.

Female Foeticide is the abortion of a female foetus outside of legal

methods. The frequency of female foeticide in India is increasing
day by day. The natural sex ratio is assumed to be between 103
and 107, and any number above it is considered as suggestive of
female foeticide. According to the decennial Indian census, the sex
ratio in the 0 to 6 age group in India has risen from 102.4 males per
100 females in 1961, to 104.2 in 1980, to 107.5 in 2001, to 108.9 in
2011.

The child sex ratio is within the normal natural range in all eastern
and southern states of India but significantly higher in certain
western and particularly northwestern states such
as Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir (118, 120 and 116, as
of 2011, respectively). The western states of Maharashtra and
Rajasthan 2011 census found a child sex ratio of 113, Gujarat at
112 and Uttar Pradesh at 111.

The Indian census data suggests there is a positive correlation

between abnormal sex ratio and better socio-economic status and
literacy. This may be connected to the dowry system in India where
dowry deaths occur when a girl is seen as a financial burden. Urban
India has higher child sex ratio than rural India according
to 1991, 2001 and 2011 Census data, implying higher prevalence of
female foeticide in urban India.
 CHAPTER :-2
ORIGIN OF FEMALE FOETICIDE

Female foeticide has been linked to the arrival, in the early 1990s,
of affordable ultrasound technology and its widespread adoption in
India. Obstetric ultrasonography, either transvaginally or
transabdominally, checks for various markers of fetal sex. It can be
performed at or after week 12 of pregnancy. At this point, 3⁄4 of fetal
sexes can be correctly determined, according to a 2001
study. Accuracy for males is approximately 50% and for females
almost 100%. When performed after week 13 of pregnancy,
ultrasonography gives an accurate result in almost 100% of cases.

Availability
Ultrasound technology arrived in China and India in 1979, but its
expansion was slower in India. Ultrasound sex discernment
technologies were first introduced in major cities of India in 1980s,
its use expanded in India's urban regions in 1990s, and became
widespread in 2000s.
 CHAPTER:-3
REASONS FOR FEMALE FOETICIDE
Various theories have been proposed as possible reasons for sex-
selective abortion. Culture is favored by some researchers, while
some favor disparate gender-biased access to resources. Some
demographers question whether sex-selective abortion or
infanticide claims are accurate, because underreporting of female
births may also explain high sex ratios.Natural reasons may also
explain some of the abnormal sex ratios. Klasen and Wink suggest
India and China’s high sex ratios are primarily the result of sex-
selective abortion.

Dowry system
Even though the Dowry System legally ended with the Dowry
Prohibition Act of 1961, the impossibility of monitoring families and
the prevalence of corruption have led to its continuance all over
India.A dowry is a payment from the bride's family to the groom's
family at the time of marriage. It is often found in "socially stratified,
monogamous societies that are economically complex and where
women have a relatively small productive role". Theoretically,
marriage results in partners choosing the mate who best maximizes
their utility and there is equal distribution of returns to both
participants. The outcome is pareto optimal and reaches equilibrium
when no one can be better off with any other partner or choosing
not to marry. However, if both partners do not share an equal
distribution of the returns then there must be a transfer of funds
between them in order to reach efficiency. In Indian society, the rise
of economic growth has allowed men to work in "productive" jobs
and gain an income, but many women are not afforded these
opportunities. Therefore, women and their families have to compete
for men and pay a dowry as a transaction payment to make up for
the lack of productive inputs they bring into a marriage.
Cultural preference
One school of scholars suggest that female foeticide can be seen
through history and cultural background. Generally, male babies
were preferred because they provided manual labor and success
the family lineage. The selective abortion of female fetuses is most
common in areas where cultural norms value male children over
female children for a variety of social and economic reasons. A son
is often preferred as an "asset" since he can earn and support the
family; a daughter is a "liability" since she will be married off to
another family, and so will not contribute financially to her parents.
Female foeticide then, is a continuation in a different form, of a
practice of female infanticide or withholding of postnatal health care
for girls in certain households.

India's weak social security system

Another reason for this male preference is based on the economic
benefits of having a son and the costs of having a daughter. In
India, there is a very limited social security system so parents look
to their sons to ensure their futures and care for them in old
age. Daughters are liabilities because they have to leave to another
family once they are married and cannot take care of their parents.
Additionally, they do not contribute economically to the family
wealth and are costly because of the dowry system People in India
usually see men's work as "productive" and contributing the family,
while the social perception of female labor does not have that
connotation. This also ties to the fact that it is easier for men in
India to get high paying jobs and provide financially for their
families.
 CHAPTER:-4
LAWS THAT MAKES FEMALE FOETICIDE
ILLEGAL

India passed its first abortion-related law, the so-called Medical

Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971, making abortion legal in
most states, but specified legally acceptable reasons for abortion
such as medical risk to mother and rape. The law also established
physicians who can legally provide the procedure and the facilities
where abortions can be performed, but did not anticipate female
foeticide based on technology advances. With increasing availability
of sex screening technologies in India through the 1980s in urban
India, and claims of its misuse, the Government of India passed
the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PNDT) in 1994. This law
was further amended into the Pre-Conception and Pre-natal
Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse)
(PCPNDT) Act in 2004 to deter and punish prenatal sex screening
and female foeticide. However, there are concerns that PCPNDT
Act has been poorly enforced by authorities.
Laws passed in India to alleviate female
foeticide

Year
Other Legislation Goals
Passed

Dowry Prohibition Prohibits families from taking a

1961
Act dowry, punishable with imprisonment

Hindu Marriage Rules around marriage and divorce

1955
Act for Hindus

Deals with the legal process of

Hindu Adoption
adopting children and the legal
and Maintenance 1956
obligation to provide "maintenance"
Act
for other family members

Immoral Traffic
1986 Stops sex trafficking and exploitation
Prevention Act

Prevents monetary discrimination

Equal
1976 between men and women in the
Remuneration Act
workforce

Female Infanticide Prevents female infanticide (Act

1870
Act passed in British India)

Ban on ultrasound
1996 Bans prenatal sex determination
testing
 CONCLUSION

Through many mediums, awareness about female foeticide is being

spread throughout the nation. Let it be plays, soap operas, mass

awareness programs, ads, endorsement by various celebrities, Beti

Bachao campaign, rallies, posters, etc. Everyone is trying to spread

the message everywhere. Despite all these efforts, the sex ratio of

our country is not improving.

According to the 2011 Census, there are approximately 110 boys

behind 100 girls. This shows that we have wrecked the sex ratio of

our country. We can blame the government, the NGO’s or the

society as a whole for all we like but till the time the common man

does not understand the value of a girl child, this problem will not be

solved. The people of this country need to understand that every

action has a reaction. Due to rampant female foeticide, the demand

for girls for marriage has increased in the whole country. Due to this

reason, flesh trade has increased. In one way or the other, it is the

female who suffers. We need to understand the importance of a

female. After all, they constitute one-half of the society. They should

be given the same preference and respect which a male gets in the

society.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

WEBSITES
www.wikipedia.org

www.unicef.in

www.legal.com

BOOK
Female Foeticide in India: A Harsh Reality by Madhussdan Tripathi